Dumped by girlfriend, man feeds her hamster to dog

United Kingdom,Crime/Disaster/Accident,
Thu, 26 Apr 2012IANS

London, April 26 (IANS) A 22-year-old Briton, who was dumped by his girlfriend after a six-year relationship, hurled the woman's pet hamster against a wall and stamped it to death before feeding it to his dog, a court has heard.

Ryan O'Brien killed the pet named Dave to get back at his 23-year-old girlfriend Jemma Tracey after she ended their relationship, the Telegraph reported.

Jemma visited O'Brien's home in Stevenage, Hertfordshire, in July last year to collect her belongings, including two pet hamsters.

Fearing he would be evicted from the home, the then jobless O'Brien refused to hand over the animals and demanded payment.

When the woman refused to pay, O'Brien picked up one of the hamsters and hurled it against the wall of his flat.

The animal survived the horrific attack, and O'Brien crushed it under his boots before calling over his bulldog to eat it up, the Stevenage magistrate's court heard.

He then threatened to slit the throat of the second hamster before the woman paid him and fled with her surviving pet.

O'Brien was arrested the next day and charged under the Animal Welfare Act with causing unnecessary suffering to an animal.

But he walked free after magistrates in Stevenage gave him a s

uspended sentence of six months behind bars after he pleaded guilty to the act of cruelty. A magistrate dubbed it as "uncontrollable rage".

The attack took place in July last year, three months after Jemma ended their relationship. O'Brien pleaded guilty at the Hertford magistrate's court April 3 this year.